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How to explain Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems to a 12-year-old
- anigbrowl 12y agoNo, this is about how to describe Godel's incompleteness theorems to a 12 year old. The moment s/he asks why or how Godel's two papers managed to demonstrate this insight, the conversation is going to come to a sudden halt. I was hoping for at least a cursory reference to Godel numbering or Peano arithmetic, but the actual reasoning behind Godel's theorem's didn't even get a look-in. I think a more productive way to communicate the idea might be to leave a copy of GEB sitting about in a conspicuous place but hiss that it's 'unsuitable for small children' in response to any questions and leave the room on some fictional and complex errand shortly afterwards.